VR magazine (issue 29) features on-line photo galleries of arctic landscapes in 360 degrees. Lead stories include a photo expedition to Svalbard by Jordi Clariana, photos from the Hornsund Polar Station on Spitsbergen by Polish field assistant Witek Kaszkin, and an interview with Dr. Matt Nolan on field seasons and climate research in arctic Alaska and Siberia.

Panoramic photos go one step further and give people the opportunity to explore the environment in every direction, especially when there is a sufficient spatial density of such photos, such that one can jump from one to the other and really get the sense of being there. These photos also give scientists like myself the chance to “visit” the field again from our offices, when we have more time to look around and see things that might have been overlooked while in the field. Gigapixel VRs are especially useful in this context, as they have tremendous detail and offer something … for everyone. For example, my primary use might be to better understand glaciers, but in the same scene geomorphologists can better understand erosion, botanists can better understand vegetation distribution, etc.

– Matt Nolan